Greetings Readers! Here's a new oneshot, I hope you enjoy it!
Warnings: slight AU for 3x10, spoilers for 3x10 and 4x06
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, or any of its characters.
Very Special Thanks to: Ryne and Heatherllly from The Heart of Camelot website for beta-reading this!
Morgana couldn't sleep. But for the first time in years, it had nothing to do with nightmares.
Every time she tried to close her eyes and let sleep claim her, she saw the face of that mysterious old sorcerer as he stood in the council room, talking so calmly and so thoroughly ruining her plans to remove that which stood between her and the throne.
She had had no visions, no portentions, nothing – and if there had been a sorcerer about, surely she would have sensed it. Perhaps the sorcerer was just a glorified magician with such little power that she couldn't find it. But, that left so many questions still.
If he had an ounce of self-preservation, which he must have since he had lived to such an old age, he would have known enough not to come to such a wretched place. And to walk into the palace itself like a lamb to the slaughter!
Arthur and Gwen had not been enchanted – she knew that better than anyone. So why would this strange man come in and claim that he had cast a spell upon them? How could he possibly know that her accusation wasn't true?
The questions collided and ricocheted off the walls of her mind until she could no longer ignore the relentless cacophony. She rose from the bed and shrugged on her thick night robe, nearly forgetting to close it around herself in her haste as she left the room.
Luckily, her replacement maidservant had gone home long ago, and all the guards (although they were less than useless anyway) were patrolling another corridor. She could have talked her way past the guards with relative ease and slight seduction, but she wanted all her focus to be on the old sorcerer in the dungeons below.
As her footfalls began to echo throughout the cavernous stone dungeon, the one inhabitant of the cells looked up almost expectantly. Upon seeing her, however, his head sunk down and she thought she saw disappointment glinting in his eyes.
"Lady Morgana," he said coolly, and for some reason that made her flinch.
"How do you know my name?" She asked.
The old man seemed to falter slightly, but it must have been a trick of the light, because he answered her question without hesitation.
"Everyone knows who you are, my lady," he said slyly, as he raised an eyebrow at her in a gesture that was somehow uncannily familiar. "Or at least who you pretend to be."
Morgana took a step backwards, tilting her head slightly to better observe this strange old man. "I…don't understand you."
"Nor I you, young woman," the man said seriously, his blue eyes seeming to pierce her soul. "And I am grateful for that fact."
Morgana's eyes shot fire. "What do you mean?"
"How could you do this to them?" the older man asked in reply. "These two are your friends, my lady. The whole kingdom knows of your friendship, how selflessly you defend and look out for one another-" he shook his head in bewilderment, and continued sadly, "I do not understand how you have come to mean them harm. They have done nothing to you."
For a moment, Morgana thought she heard some slight emphasis on the word "they", but she was sure she was mistaken. She strode closer, although the older man didn't flinch at the rush of movement like she had hoped. "Who are you to judge me?" she whispered angrily, "You don't know what I've been through." The old man's eyes grew sad and he seemed to be on the edge of saying something, but Morgana cut him off. "And are you entirely innocent?" she said, "Have you been so sainted that you have never caused any pain?"
The old man shook his head. "I have caused my fair share of pain, young woman, I cannot claim innocence in that." He looked her straight in the eyes. "However, I do not relish the fact – it causes me more pain that you can possibly know. And therefore I cannot understand why your cruelty to your friends is pleasing to you."
"And why do you care?" Morgana hissed. "What have they ever done for you? Your life is on the line to help a man who would see you dead…who will see you dead tomorrow."
"Done for me?" The old man sighed. "That is not how it works, Mo-my lady. They owe me nothing. But," he said softly, with a pitying look, "I wouldn't expect you to understand. You have no sense of duty, no sense of loyalty."
Morgana's eyes narrowed. "I understand loyalty perfectly well, old man. I, however, am not foolish enough to give it to someone who will only get me killed with it!" And with that parting shot, she turned away from the prisoner and swept elegantly out of the dungeon, her cloak fanning out behind her like the train of a queen's gown.
However, she couldn't quite help feeling that the old man had been more victorious in the encounter than she had.
~.~
Dripping wet and chained with his arms above his head, Merlin showed no sign of fear or of cowardice, which would have been infinitely more satisfying than the defiant glare he was giving her now. Once again, she was shocked by the incredible loyalty he bore towards Arthur – she might have been impressed had his allegiance not been so misplaced.
Unable to help her curiosity, she asked him the one thing she was certain would never make any sense to her. Couldn't he see that there was no advantage for him in their arrangement? All he was, and all he'd ever be in Arthur's eyes, was a simpleminded servant, and no amount of loyalty would ever prove otherwise.
"I wouldn't expect you to understand, Morgana," Merlin replied steadfastly, and she thought she could hear a note of sadness in his voice - though it might have been pain, because even as he spoke he twisted in the chains and winced. "You have no sense of duty, no sense of loyalty."
Perhaps if Morgana hadn't been so bent on Arthur's destruction, she might have allowed her subconscious to tell her that she'd heard such words before. And that, if she put the words together, she'd have an answer to all of her questions.
Instead, she plotted away in ignorance, unaware that her destiny and her doom was the simple servant boy she now held helpless in her clutches.
A/N: I hope you liked it! I always thought it was weird that Morgana wasn't more curious about a sorcerer just showing up and claiming to do what she'd done. She just looked puzzled more than anything!
Again, thanks to Ryne and Heatherllly from The Heart of Camelot .com. If you're interested, come and give it a try - it's a Merlin fansite with fanfiction, forums, and other such goodies.
Thanks for reading and please review! They make me happy!